New Year’s resolutions bring reflection on the past year and plans for the coming year. On the list somewhere is a goal of staying healthy, often phrased as maintaining “wellness”.
For me, “wellness” goes beyond exercise, diet and adding spiritual components like meditation or Bible study to my schedule: it’s clearing the clutter! Make way for open space in the closet and garage – not to refill with more stuff, but to get rid of the excess. Here are a few tips for three piles:
- Start with one box or closet. If you’re really ambitious, start with a whole room
- Ask yourself if any of these items are necessary to keep for monetary value or survival – “Keep” pile
- Ask yourself if you’ll ever wear that long red coat again, even if you do lose enough weight to fit into it. Is it out of style anyway? Perhaps a bit shopworn? If you have not worn it in the past year or two, you likely never will even if it does come back in style – “Donate” pile
- Are you keeping items thinking that your children will want them one day? Trust me, they probably won’t
- If it’s not “Keep” or “Donate”, then the item might be “Trash”
- Don’t feel like you have to replace what you let go. If you go shopping, only buy what you really need. Otherwise, just enjoy looking
I think the hardest part of clearing clutter is the “letting go”. Nearly everything in my home is tied to a memory which makes parting with it very hard. I’m saying goodbye to a something remembered. My hope is that you will find possibilities in the future when the old stuff is gone. There is so much yet to experience and so much life to live. Carrying a household full of old things is burdensome. Make 2019 a year to let in the new by discarding the old. Give your life some open space to fill with possibilities.
This is a special kind of “wellness” infused with Hope and Joy.
My hopeful and joyful wishes to you in 2019!
